Earth Mantra is very proud to welcome another new artist to our roster of contributors, this time Devin Underwood and his enigmatic experimental ambient music project Specta Ciera.
Devin has always been deeply interested in the creative uses of sound design, and with his debut Earth Mantra release "Accumulation Section", he does not disappoint. This album is a fascinating collection of true sound sculptures, drifting somewhere in a realm of abstract texture that remains soothingly approachable to anyone who is a fan of ambient music. From glitchy sonic remembrances to virtual wind chimes to opulent tsunamis of textural goodness, there is truly something in this album for everyone. Indeed, Devin created the album for both himself and others as a meditation aid and source of stress relief. His goal was to make sounds that would be so easy on the ears that the listener would find themselves drifting into a relaxed state of consciousness without even noticing. After listening to this album several times, we can report that he most assuredly achieved his goal.
Interestingly, each of the individual tracks on "Accumulation Section" was built from the same core sound set, which was morphed into whole new compositions through various processes and treatments until they all took on their own unique shape - while still containing all the original ingredients. Many different instruments and sounds went into the recordings, including layers of cell phone and mini disk field recordings, controlled feedback, experimental instruments of Devin's own construction, piano, and a few outboard synths. We are particularly struck by how much diversity Devin was able to achieve using such a simple and effective compositional method. Just brilliant.
In addition, Devin felt that the work of Earth Mantra alumnus Jacob Newman was very much along the lines of what he was striving for sound-wise, so he asked Jacob if he would like to remix any of the songs. In response, Jacob created a beautiful remix of "Accumulation Section", which serves as a perfect capstone to the album.
All in all, this is a superb way to introduce the music of Specta Ciera to the listeners of Earth Mantra. Truly one of the most listenable and pleasing abstract ambient releases we have heard in some time, as well as a perfect backdrop for contemplation and meditation. Thus, we are very happy to be releasing "Accumulation Section" to our listeners, and hope to hear much more from Devin in the future. Highly recommended.
As always, all Earth Mantra releases are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license. For commercial use, please contact us.
![[earman141] Specta Ciera - Accumulation Section](/img/work/nomencl/m_2980.jpg "[earman141] Specta Ciera - Accumulation Section")
